A satyr (allegory)
A satyr is an allegory of uncontrollable and wild nature. They say that the main difference between humans and an animal is the ability to self-reflect. We are controlled by “logos,” our wild side is subdued by morality. Nicholas feels subconsciously “a distinct primitive terror” when he looks at the paintings of a pan, for it is something he – a human – can’t understand, that creature is an embodiment of hostile nature. Obviously, the young man is not afraid of the picture, but he is clearly disturbed by what it symbolizes. “The satyr-man” is the mystery that Nicholas can’t solve, and it seems that the mischievous creature follows him around the island, taunting him and making fun of him. No wonder Conchis loves that image so much.
An island (symbol)
An island is a symbol of imprisonment. A human “placed” in “situations of isolation” suffers from the inability to do as he/she wishes. An island is just a perfect place for that. Even the school Nicholas once considered a perfect place turned out to be “blind and prisonlike.” When Alison’s letters stopped, he became “increasing isolated in a more conventional way.” The outer world became “absurdly and sometimes terrifyingly unreal.” The only one entertainment was “a daily boat from Athens.” Though people knew that the boat “would stop for only a few minutes, that probably not five passengers would get off, or five get on, they had to watch.” It was as if islanders were “all convicts still hoping faintly for a reprieve.”
Looking for salvation (motif)
Even though Nicholas put on a mask of a cynic, it was obvious that that image of a heartless poet who despises the rest of the world is just a pretence. Once when he went for a walk in the hills and it began to “pour with rain,” the man had decided that “the whole world” finally declared itself against him. There was something Nicholas could not “shrug off,” “an absolute condemnation.” His life seemed absurd, he lost his chance for love, and the mask he had been wearing for so long started suffocating him. That was the reason why the man was so drawn to Conchis, for the latter saw just right through him. Nicholas was “in hell” and he was looking for salvation.
